How Do You Measure a Year?
by colourfuldaze
Summary: But for each season in every year, one thing is sure: Times stops and waits for the inevitable every time cold, icy blue eyes meet warm, chocolate brown. A response to Bhavana33196's challenge, 525,600 Minutes of Channy.
1. Summer

AN: So I know that I pretty much promised that the sequel of Everything is Temporary would be the first thing I would work on. But I caught a link to Bhavana331's challenge a few days ago and I've been itching to try this out :))

So, here we go :D

**Title:** How Do You Measure a Year?  
**Pairing: **Chad Dylan Cooper/Sonny Munroe  
**Summary: **As the summer nights are drowned out by the sound of the crisp autumn leaves, the four seasons of the year pass by differently each time. But for every year, one thing is sure: Times stops and waits for the inevitable every time cold, icy blue eyes meet warm, chocolate brown. A response to Bhavana331's challenge, 525,600 Minutes of Channy.

I'm not sure, but I think I'll try to do all four seasons. I'll try my best to update this on a regular basis.

**Disclaimer: **Is the usual, I own rights to ABSOLUTELY nothing related to Disney or SWAC.

* * *

**how do you** m e a s u r e **a year?  
[ five hundred** – twenty five thousand – _six hundred_ m i n u t e s** ]**

**(** o n e – s u m m e r** )**

--------------

The staff and workers of Condor studios have been waiting for this day for _months._ Everyone was watching the clock, waiting for it to finally strike five o'clock. It would officially be the summer. The cast of So Random wasn't _like_ the rest of the staff. They didn't want to leave.

But Sonny Munroe had always been taught to bring out the** b e s t **in every s i t u a t i o n.

"Oh come on you guys, it's **summer**! Why are you all so _sad_?" she asked while dropping onto the famous Prop House couch beside Nico. She a d o r e d that couch. It represented everything that So Random was. They were the most underrated show on TV, there were always people trying to _break them up_. But somewhere along the road, the cast became a tight-knit family that would s h a t t e r the expectations that had been set upon them.

"Oh sure Sonny, like you of all people actually want to leave this place" she answered nonchantedly, while looking at herself in the mirror that Sonny had given her for her birthday.

Her face turned a bright shade of pink, and she could feel the heat of her blush even more so when Nico told her that her cellphone was ringing. Not mooing like usual, but she had ONE customized ringtone within her selective sixty three contacts. It was a known fact throughout the studio that when "Summertime" by New Kids on the Block was jamming out of Sonny Munroe's cellphone, only one person could be calling.

**I think about you in the summertime**  
And all the good times we had, baby  
Been a few years and I can't deny  
_**The thought of you still makes me crazy**_  
I think about you in the summertime  
**I'm sittin' here in the sun with you on my mind**  
You're my, my summertime

Almost every actor in Hollywood knew that when you talk wrongly about Sonny Munroe, Chad Dylan Cooper would be right behind you.

Nico grinned at her and said, "Sonny, Chip Dramapants is calling you. Again".

She chuckled half-heartedly before she answered the phone.

"Ch-aaaad".

She could _see_ his grin even before he replies.

"Sonn-shinee".

Only _he_ called her that. He was the only person that she let call her that.

"Why'd you call?".

"It's four thirty, Sonny".

"I _know_ Chad. We're out of here in a half hour".

"Fine, fine. Just come over to my dressing room at the Falls, I need to talk to you".

She stares that the phone after hearing the dial tone, wonder what he needed to say that couldn't wait. She waves to her co-stars before walking over to the MacKenzie Falls studio.

She encounters a lot of Chad's co-star in the studio, hugging them and wishing them a good summer (she was the only one who they treated equally, because she kept Chad in line). She touches the handle of Chad's door before she is suddenly engulfed in a huge hug by somebody behind her.

Out of instinct, the Falls studio hears a scream. This usually happened when Sonny was at their studio. It was Sonny and Chad, as usual.

"AHHHHHHHHHH!"

She turns around to see a smirking Chad Dylan Cooper still holding her by the waist. He pulls her close, and oddly enough she doesn't try to stop him. With her favourite blue eyes in front of her, she grins and pulls him even tighter.

"It's four forty five, Chad" she whispered within their embrace. Somehow, they had ended up inside his dressing room, yet they were still in the same embrace.

( _Lose yourself in the moment, he always told her. _)

"Listen, I want to give you something before the summer starts" he said, while letting her go and taking a piece of paper out of his leather jacket.

He handed her the paper and told her, "I know that before, you told me that you couldn't be with me because of my rep, my ego. I was the bad boy who never dumped girls in their faces and had a new one on my arm every morning. But when I saw you kiss that guy at the Lakers game, I made a decision that I should have made a long time ago".

It was out in the open, her **v u l n e r a b i l i t y** and his final _d e c i s i o n_.

"My ego isn't worth losing you, Sonny" he told her, while gently pulling her towards him.

Her dark chocolate eyes caught his icy blue ones, and time s t o p p e d.

"You and me?" she whispered.

"You and me," he repeated. He gently pulled her in for a sweet, meaningful **k i s s.**

They smiled and he continued speaking, "You and me. Let's do this. F o r e v e r".

The clock strikes five and cheers are heard throughout the studio, yet between the blue-eyed blonde and the brown-eyed brunette, the s u m m e r had started so** l o n g** ago.

------------

Their first season together was **i n c r e d i b l y** hard. People tried to break them a p a r t and they had constant f i g h t s.

But as most people remember the summer for the beautiful beaches and party hookups, they remembered theirs for their s t r u g g l e to stay together and the t e a r s that were shed along the way.

Yet within the three months of the summer season, Chad Dylan Cooper and Sonny Munroe had found what they were looking for at the ages of seventeen and sixteen.

They had found their s o u l m a t e s.

* * *

Lyrics belong to NEW KIDS ON THE BLOCK.

THAAANKS FOR READING! :D


	2. Vacation

AN: So, here's word #2. YAAAAY, an update right? :)

season: summer.  
word: vacation.  
genre: um, general/romance. I feel too happy to write angst today.

fun? VERY. Sonny's POV.

The disclaimer will always be the same, I own nothing. ABSOLUTELY FREAKING NOTHING. If I did, we wouldn't have to wait a month for every new episode of Sonny With a Chance. :)

* * *

**how do you** m e a s u r e **a year?  
[ five hundred** – twenty five thousand – _six hundred_ m i n u t e s** ]**

**(** t w o - v a c a t i o n** )**

**------------------------ **

As much as she hated to admit it, she missed her boyfriend dearly at this point. She had just seen him a few hours ago when he dropped her off at the airport, but she could help but look longingly at the pictures of them together on her iPhone. Even if he constantly teased her, she would do anything right now to have him sitting right beside her.

She was with her co-stars (minus Zora, as usual), and they had just landed at the Ft. Lauderdale airport. Grady and Nico were collected their baggages (at this point, they were on the luggage belt and stepping on other bags, looking for theirs) and Tawni was in the bathroom, most likely looking at how 'pretty' she is in the mirror.

_'I think about you in the summertime, and all the good times we had baby'_

The words had blasted out of her phone, and the whole So Random cast knew who it was. Only one person has their own personal ringtone on Sonny Monroe's cellphone.

"Ay, Cooper! What's the dillaay?" she mocked, remembering when she called him to tell him to stop making everybody paranoid.

She chuckled at the silence on his end before he replied, "Never. ever. EVER again."

She can hear his laughter – and as stupid as it sounds, it is the sweetest thing she's ever heard.

"How are you?" he asks meaningfully. The concern can be heard clearly, even though they're talking through a telephone.

She continues to tell him about the plane ride, "Oh man, Chad. You should be here with me! Nico kept hitting on the plane attendant, Grady brought _cheese_ pass the customs and then we got STUCK there for TWO HOURS, and ohmygosh. Chad. Tawni sleeptalks. It's really funny. She talks about James, and then this one time she talked about YOU!" she squealed.

"Me? What'd she say about me? Was she jealous of my perfect hair? Or, my looks?" he asked, and she could imagine him with his signature smirk to match.

"Haha, funny. Really Chad? Anyways, she said 'Cooper, _I_ was supposed to be the one you set up an audition for. Just because you love Sonny doesn't mean..' then she would drift off. But then when I was watching 17 Again, she basically knew all of it. Whenever you were on the screen, she would say, 'Gosh, Sonny. You're best friend is Zac Efron. Why are you even _dating_ Drama Pants?' and this one time she said, 'His hair looks stupid. Stupid'." she replied, grinning.

"WAIT, BACK UP MONROE. You're _best friends_ with him?!" he demanded.

She watches as Nico and Grady drop the luggage for the third time before replying, "Chad. Really? Why do you care?".

"Ugh..Psh. Well it's not because I'm _jealous_. Cause um, I'm not!" he said carefully, although his voice went an octave higher every syllable that he said.

"You know, sometimes I think that we're more alike than you think. I mean, you're doing the lying high voice thing now" she responded.

"Hey! Chad Dylan Cooper does not get jealous! I am perfectly content with myself. I mean, **look at me**" he said, and she knew that he was trying to inflate his ego again.

She smiles before she sees her castmates desperately trying to get her attention.

"Hey, Chad? I've gotta go. Zac Efron is calling me".

She laughs hard at the silence on the other end and then says, "I'm kidding, B. Don't worry, okay? **Love you!**". The last two words come out before she can control it, and a blush is starting to appear on her face rapidly.

"Uh.. ehm. Bye" was all that she recieved in return.

The thoughts inside her mind were repeating the end of the converation over and over. She drags herself to her castmates and realizes the awkwardness that would occur once she saw Chad again.

Maybe people like Chad weren't meant for _real_ relationships.

_------------------_

The quartet drove to the hotel (which was surprisingly extravagent) enjoying themselves and excited for the two weeks to waste. Nico and Tawni argued over what radio station to listen to and Grady played his PSP, bumping Sonny whenever he made a mistake.

She pushed her boyfriend away from her mind as well as she could, knowing that there was nothing that she could do if they were on opposite sides of the country. Three words, other than 'Chad Dylan Cooper' themselves (at least when she's mad), had never upset Chad before.

She was checking in with Nico (Grady and Tawni had **insisted** on finding some food), when suddenly a pair of arms are suffocating her by the waist. A loud scream comes out of her mouth: "NICO! SOME INSANE STALKER IS TRYING TO KIDNAP ME!!!". The stalker flips her around, and suddenly her eyes are once again lost within his ocean blue ones.

But she decides to ruin the moment by stepping on his toe.

"CHAD DYLAN CO-MMHPHT" she gets out, before he covers her mouth and drags her into a corner.

"What the heck? Chad? Why are you here? Wait. YOU SCARED ME TO DEATH! I thought somebody was kidnapping me!" she snapped angrily, once he loosened the grasp over her mouth.

He smiled cheekily at her before saying, "You know, I'm kind of embarressed to say this. But hey, what the heck. I'm Chad Dylan Cooper. _I love you too, Allison 'Sonny' Monroe_".

Before she could even concentrate on the words that he had just said, he crashed his lips into hers and she wrapped her arms around his neck. The world around them dissolved and the only thing that mattered right now was **them**. Them two, together. She always thought this kind of thing had only happened in movies, or really dramatic tv shows.

"You know that I love you too, but I'm guessing that that's not the only reason you're hear?" she asks.

He tightens his hold on her and replies, "Well, sure. You're at a beach. I'm just making sure that Zac Efron doesn't come and steal you away from me. Cause well, **you're mine for life**".

She grins and replies, "Fine".

"Fine".

"Good".

"Good".

"So, are we good?".

He doesn't even respond, he grins and kisses her again.

"We're _so_ good. Oh, I meant that Monroe. For life. Wait one second".

( **& for once, she's okay with him winning. **)

He takes out a little jewlery box and bends down on one knee. Her eyes tear up and she can't help but smile at the scene unfolding in front of her.

"Allison Monroe, I love you so much. I want to be able to tell you that when we're old and sitting on our porch, waiting for our grandchildren to arrive. I know that I'm only 19, and you 18, but I already know that you're everything. You've changed me, and I know that I can't live without you".

"Chad... we're so young".

He smirks at her and explains, "This is an **eternity** ring. It means that in some point in time, I promise to marry you. To love you forever. To treat you like you deserve to, as if you're the only girl in the world for me. I love you, and I want the world to know that".

All she can do is nod, and suddenly he's wrapped her in a tight embrace.

"Ay, Sonny! Grady and Tawni are – wait, Chad?" they heard, mostly likely Nico Harris.

( **Them two, forever. What can possibly be any better?** )

Their moment is ruined by Sonny's cellphone, not mooing but lyrics blazing out: _Right Here, Right Now, I promise you somehow, tomorrow can wait for some other day to be, cause Right Now there's you and me_

"C'mon Sonny, he has his own **ringtone?!**"

* * *

[ Author's Note ] So 2 is done. Lyrics belong to: New Kids on the Block for Chad's ringtone, and Zac/Vanessa (HSM3) for that last bit, which was Zac calling. Chaddy get's mad because he thought that only he had his own ringtone :)

Other than that, I thought this was pretty fluffy, LOL.

**Reviews are loved! Most of them will be responded to.**

**wordcount: 1, 690.**


	3. Airplane

[AN] Sorry for the delay, the past two weeks have just been _horrible._ But I won't bore you guys with my problems. Thank you for the condolences, they meant a lot to me. Really. _Mahal kita Mamang, sana okay ka na dyan._

One-shot. Sonny/Chad bonding, friends! Based on personal experience with my BFF :D

season: summer.  
word: airplane.  
genre: friendship, because everyone loves f r i e n d s !

No Channy this time, but Chad and Zora friendship, because I thought that them two in Sonny in the Middle was the most adorable thing ever x)

The **disclaimer** hasn't changed. I still don't own anything expect for the epic memory that this one-shot is based on :)

* * *

**how do you **m e a s u r e **a year?  
[ five hundred **– twenty five thousand – _six hundred _m i n u t e s **]  
**

( t h r e e – a i r p l a n e )

---------------------

_A friend can tell you things you don't want to tell yourself.  
**- Frances Ward Weller**_

"Oh, sigh".

This was the _third _time that Chad had heard that this week. He would not do whatever the Little Random wanted him to do this time. He had to watch that movie with her and Tawni, when he could have watched it with Sonny (yeah, she was _two rows_ behind them). He would **not** let the weird little girl soften him up again. NOT. NEVER. NADA.

"**Ohh, sighh".**

_Not. NEVER. Nada. NOT. Never. NADA._ Chad Dylan Cooper doesn't _do_ sympathy!

"OHHHH, SIGHH!".

Not. Never. Nad- Oh, we all get it. The fact remains, that Chad Dylan Cooper does not need to care whats wrong with a little twelve year old girl who is always excluded by her cast-mates. Darn it.

"Aw, sad little random. What's wrong kid?" he asks, pretending to read through the lines in the MacKenzie Falls script (c'mon, he needed an _excuse_ to be nice, didn't he?). He knows her answer before it comes out, this has happened one too many times.

"Well, Nico _promised_ me that we would go watch airplanes take off today, but he's at home sick. Then I asked Sonny, but she said something about getting her phone out of her sink. Tawni won't even acknowledge me, so I didn't bother to ask. Oh, sigh" she said. _This kid could pull off MacKenzie Falls, she's over-dramatic,_ he thought in his head.

He flipped through the pages of the script, acting as though he didn't care. Not. Never. Nada. **Darn Sonny and her _feelings_.**

"You wouldn't let me down, would you, Chad?" she asked miserably. _Not. Never. Nada._ **Darn it!**

"Oh what the heck. I'm going out to watch airplanes with my second favourite Random today!" he exclaimed cheerfully, before dragging Zora out of the studio (and purposely passing by Sonny's dressing room) and into the parking lot.

"Wait, second favourite?" she questioned suspiciously.

--------------

Nobody rides in Chad Dylan Cooper's ride. Other than Chad Dylan Cooper. And _maybe_ Sonny Monroe. Maybe. But it seems as every rule is being broken today as he finds the weird Random, Zora, sitting in the shotgun of his _baby_. He glanced at the little girl, she looked extremely excited and happy – considering that her cast "hated" him.

"We don't hate you, Chad" she muttered quietly, as though she could read his mind. This kid just got more impressive by the minute. He chuckles quietly, remembering the little girl doing Carpet Angels on the floor of the MacKenzie Falls entertainment room.

"No?" he questioned playfully, watching as she glares at him before she sighs and speaks again.

"Well, maybe we used to. When you were really mean. But, not anymore. Not since Sonny came, anyways. Are you bipolar? You're nice... then your back to the way you used to be".

His mouth gaped into a perfect 'O', no words were coming out of the heartthrob's mouth.

"Usually kids your age are at home playing their 360s and PS3s, while you're here always being excluded by your castmates. You spend time in the vents like you **enjoy** it, but I know people, kid. You spend your time being .. _different_ because that's the only way that you get their attention. You're kind of like me, I guess. I act this way because this is what people expect of me" he answered honestly.

"Pfft, you try sliding into the vents. It's fun!".

He grins at her before keeping his eyes on the road, "Keep trying to convince yourself, Little Random".

------------------

He parked in a deserted parking lot at least a mile from LAX. He let Zora sit on the front of his car, and he leaned on the side comfortably. They waited patiently and quietly for a plane to take-off, and he can't remember the last time he had been so content.

"Chad! Look!" the girl squealed excitedly, pointing at the huge airplane that was going upwards into the sky. He smiles quietly to himself, amused at seeing her so worked up at such a small little thing.

As he thought of the hectic days at Condor Studios, between his fights with Sonny and the way he was forced to act, he couldn't help but hope for even more days spent with the misunderstood twelve year old girl beside him.

_Silences make the real conversations between friends.  
Not the saying but the **never needing to say** is what counts.  
- Margaret Lee Runbeck_

_

* * *

  
_

[AN] I actually got this done on the plane, can you believe this?! I can barely read on a plane, but I was sooooo bored. So I said no updates, but I got this done after about 2 hours and I'm posting it when I reach South Korea for a stop-down. I think they have Wi-Fi there :)

Isn't Chad and Zora the most adorable friendship ever? I freaking LOVED them in Sonny in the Middle, they were sooooo cute. They should have more moments on the show, no lies :3


	4. Beach House

AN: woah, finally an update, right?

season: summer.  
word: beach-house.  
pairing: chad/tawni  
genre: free verse, angst.

The _disclaimer_ is the same. I own neither Tawni Hart, CDC, OR SM. And um, Disney does. Yeah.

* * *

**how do you**m e a s u r e **a year?  
[ five hundred**– twenty five thousand – _six hundred_m i n u t e s **]**

( f o u r – b e a c h h o u s e )

------------------------

It all started at a beach house

Coloured in o c e a n blue,

Just like his eyes.

It sat right beside the sandy beach,

The sound of the w a v e s _crashing_ to the shore

Overpowered the sound of a **stunning blonde** and her counterpart

_Yelling and screaming into the n i g h t._

(**scream**yourheartout)

If you watched them _carefully_,

You would see him distancing himself from the girl,

Trying to walk away.

But the girl was p e r s i s t e n t.

(_**justlethimgo**_,Tawni)

She wasn't supposed to be like this, v u l n e r a b l e.

They were supposed to be PERFECT.

Two of Condor Studio's greatest teen actors:

**Tawni Hart and Chad Dylan Cooper.**

_Respected by many, jealous of none._

But then _she_ came along.

(andeverythingyouhaddisappeared)

What did she have, compared to Tawni Hart?

Bad style? Corniness? Always-happy-everyday syndrome?

_What kind of person would choose Sonny Monroe,_

When Tawni Hart was already in his grasp?

The worst thing was,

She was so **i n n o c e n t**, didn't know his feelings.

B l i n d e d by the stars of HOLLYWOOD.

"_It's just not the same, I'm sorry"_.

He said, just like that.

Not realizing that he had broken the unbreakable:

_**He had broken Tawni Hart.**_

And she watched as he walked away,

Leaving her to die

Near the _b e a c h h o u s e_ colored in ocean blue,

**Just like his eyes**.


End file.
